Canada counts 85 private advanced imaging facilities: inventory

Provincial distribution

Quebec has the largest share of private advanced imaging facilities with 31 of the 85 (36%), followed by Alberta with 18 (21%), British Columbia with 15 (18%), Ontario with 14 (16%), and Saskatchewan with 5 (6%). The Atlantic region accounts for two facilities, one in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick. The inventory reports no private advanced imaging facilities operating in Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, or the territories.

Readers comparing options province by province can review listings for private MRI clinics in Alberta, private MRI clinics in British Columbia, private MRI clinics in Quebec, and private MRI clinics in Saskatchewan.

MRI is the most common private modality

MRI is the most frequently offered advanced imaging modality among the surveyed private facilities, with 66 of the 85 (78%) performing MRI exams. By comparison, 27 (32%) offer CT, 12 (14%) offer SPECT, 9 (11%) offer SPECT-CT, and 6 (7%) offer PET-CT.

The inventory also notes that fewer than 10% of all CT and MRI exams in Canada were delivered in the private setting as of 2018, though private services and chain ownership have been expanding.

Chain ownership and urban concentration

Of the 85 facilities identified, 54 (64%) operate as part of chain ownerships, and 55 (65%) are located within census metropolitan areas as defined by Statistics Canada. In Alberta specifically, 15 of the province's 18 private facilities are located in the Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Red Deer metropolitan areas, with 17 of 18 operating as part of chain ownerships.

Exam types and published pricing

Private facilities generally publish fee schedules for a range of MRI exam types. One Vancouver-area operator lists MRI, CT and ultrasound services and has operated in Vancouver since 1999. A Surrey, British Columbia facility lists diagnostic MRI services with a starting price of $720. That BC starting price sits within the Alberta price range published on MRIPrices.ca for common MRI exam types such as knee MRI pricing in Alberta and lumbar spine MRI pricing in Alberta, though prices are set independently by each clinic and vary by province.

Exam types documented by private operators include brain, spine, musculoskeletal (knee, shoulder, hip), breast, prostate, pelvic, abdomen, arthrogram, and temporomandibular joint MRI. For pricing context on a common exam, see brain MRI pricing in Alberta.

Why the inventory matters

The inventory's authors note that data on the activities and capacity of privately operated imaging facilities in Canada has historically been limited, and that a complete picture of advanced imaging capacity requires this information. Key takeaways from the report include:

• 85 identified private facilities offering advanced imaging in Canada
• Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario account for 78 of the 85
• 64% of facilities operate under chain ownership
• MRI is offered at 78% of the identified facilities

Further coverage of the private diagnostic imaging sector is available on the MRI news page, and provincial fee schedule comparisons are available via MRI price comparison.